Monthly Archives: February 2011

Washington v. Mullen

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Docket No. 83981-6; 84283-3 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 59388-9)  Facts: Petitioner Lisa Mullen was convicted of first degree theft, conspiracy to commit first degree theft, and criminal profiteering in the Superior Court for Skagit County after embezzling funds from her employer.  After subsequently obtaining a previously sealed deposition of her employer’s accountant taken in a civil action filed by her employer against the accountant’s firm, Mullen filed a motion for a new trial, Continue reading →

Harris v. Charles

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Docket No. 83867-4 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 61629-3)  Facts: Petitioner Joshua Harris was convicted of driving with a suspended driver’s license and driving without a required ignition interlock device in the Seattle Municipal Court and sentenced to 90 days in jail. Harris subsequently appealed his sentence, asserting that he should have been credited for the time he spent on electronic home monitoring prior to his trial and his sentence reduced accordingly and that Washington Revised Code §9.94A’s crediting of felony defendants but not misdemeanor defendants for time spent on electronic home monitoring denies misdemeanor defendants equal protection of the law Continue reading →

Williams v. Leone & Keeble, Inc.

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Docket No. 83743-1 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 27701-1)   Facts: Petitioner Delbert Williams was injured while working on a construction project in Idaho for which respondent Leone & Keeble, Inc. was the general contractor.  After reporting his injuries to the Idaho State Insurance Fund, which deemed the injury compensable, Williams began receiving workers’ compensation payments.  Williams subsequently filed suit against Leone & Keeble in the Superior Court for Spokane County, which granted Leone & Keeble’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Continue reading →

Washington v. Beadle

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Docket No. 84204-3 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 37508-7)  Facts:  Petitioner Steven Beadle was convicted of child molestation in the Superior Court for Lewis County after a trial in which out of court statements made by the alleged victim were admitted into evidence after the alleged victim refused to testify.  Beadle subsequently appealed his conviction, asserting that the trial court erred in finding the alleged victim unavailable and admitting the out of court statements and in admitting evidence that the alleged victim’s unwillingness to testify was the result of post-traumatic stress disorder. Continue reading →

Crown, Cork & Seal v. Department of Labor and Industries

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Docket No. 83854-2 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 36921-4)  Facts: The respondent Department of Labor and Industries ordered petitioner Crown, Cork & Seal to place Sylvia Smith on its pension roll after Smith suffered a leg injury that left her permanently and totally disabled and denied Crown, Cork & Seal second injury fund coverage.  Upon appeal, the Superior Court for Thurston County reversed, ruling that Crown, Cork & Seal is entitled to second fund injury coverage insofar as Smith’s carpal tunnel syndrome, which predated her leg injury, constituted a previous bodily disability for purposes of Washington Revised Code §51.16.120(1). Continue reading →

State v. Davis

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Docket No. 80209-2 (from Pierce Case No. 97-1-00432-4)  Synopsis: Whether in the penalty phase of this death penalty case, the trial court erroneously excluded videotaped statements of the defendant’s family offered for mitigation purposes and erroneously allowed a police officer to testify to the defendant’s mental state for purposes of rebutting mitigation evidence, and whether the prosecutor committed misconduct by arguing facts not in evidence. Continue reading →

Unruh v. Cacchiotti

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Docket No. 84707-0 (from Grant Case No. 07-2-01238-5)  Facts: Petitioner Lisa Unruh filed a medical malpractice action against respondent Dino Cacchiotti, her former orthodontist, in the Superior Court for Grant County, claiming that his negligent treatment of her when she was a minor was the cause of tooth loss she subsequently suffered as an adult.  The trial court granted summary judgment for Cacchiotti, ruling that Unruh’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Continue reading →

Mohr v. Grantham

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Docket No. 84712-6 (from Benton Case No. 07-2-02040-1)  Facts:  After being permanently disabled by a stroke, petitioner Linda Mohr filed a medical malpractice action against respondent Dale Grantham.  Mohr asserted that the negligent care that she had received both prior to and subsequent to her stroke substantially diminished her chances of recovery.  The Superior Court for Benton County granted summary judgment for Grantham, ruling that Mohr had failed to show “but for” causation and that a cause of action for a lost chance of a better outcome does not exist in the medical malpractice context where the ultimate harm is something short of death. Continue reading →